The War of Art [The 52 - Vol. 2]
THE WAR OF ART: BREAK THROUGH THE BLOCKS AND WIN YOUR INNER CREATIVE BATTLES
Author: Steven Pressfield
Originally Published: 2002 (Republished January 11, 2012)
Length: 190
WHY THIS BOOK MATTERS
Despite my best attempts, the first paragraph of this book’s Amazon description can’t be improved upon:
“A succinct, engaging, and practical guide for succeeding in any creative sphere. The War of Art is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul.”
When we’re striving to reach a higher plane in our lives – whether that’s through our work, relationships, or personal development – there is always a moment when we hit a wall. It seems to come out of nowhere, right when we’re making legitimate progress, and stops us dead in our tracks.
Writer’s block.
Sick kids.
Relationship problems.
Your boss climbing up your ass and taking up residence.
You chalk it up to bad luck, misfortune, or a vengeful God. But what you’re actually running into is a force called Resistance.
Steven Pressfield names this faceless enemy and refuses to sugarcoat it. The War of Art doesn’t teach you how to be creative. It teaches you how to fight. This book is a battle manual—written for anyone trying to create, build, or lead. Especially high-performers who can’t figure out why their own progress keeps stalling.
THE FOUNDATION
“Most of us have two lives – the life we live, and the un-lived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
Pressfield’s core premise is this: Resistance is the most insidious, persistent force working against your potential. It will find a way to keep you stagnant—whether through distraction, perfectionism, rationalization, or fear.
This is why high-performers suffer the most. Because the bigger the goal, the louder Resistance screams. The more meaningful the mission, the more destructive the sabotage.
If you want to break through, you need to “turn pro,” as Pressfield puts it. Move out of the realm of the amateur and treat your mission like your vocation.
You don’t negotiate with it. You don’t outgrow it. The only way to beat Resistance is by showing up, every day, regardless of how you feel.
You look the son-of-a-bitch in the eye, laugh in its face, and get to work.
Amateurs wait for inspiration.
Pros build routines, master discipline, and go to war every day.
THE ESSENTIALS
These are the core ideas I pulled from this work – some on my first read, some on my tenth. They help me remember that, when the night is darkest, there will always be a dawn. Reading Pressfield makes me feel like he’s transmitting directly to me – the man is wise, clever, and never pulls his punches. I’ll let his words do the talking here.
RESISTANCE
Resistance is the enemy. “Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you. It will reason with you like a lawyer or jam a nine-millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance will not be reasoned with. It is always lying and always full of shit.”
The more important your calling, the more Resistance shows up. “Rule of thumb: the more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we feel towards pursuing it.”
Resistance is savage, and it plays for keeps. “Resistance’s goal is not to wound or disable. Resistance aims to kill. It’s target is the epicenter of our being – our genius, our soul, the unique and priceless gift that we were put on this earth to give and no one else has but us. Resistance means business. When we fight it, we are in a war to the death.”
Resistance uses everything it can against you – ego, doubt, friends, loved ones. “Resistance recruits allies…once you make your break, you can’t turn around for your buddy who catches his trouser leg on the barbed wire. The best thing you can do for that friend (and he’d tell you this himself if he’s really your friend) is to get over the wall and keep motating. The best and only thing one artist can do for another is to serve as an example and inspiration.” Finishing is harder than starting. “The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. At this point, Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button, it marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got. The professional must be alert for this counter-attack. Be wary at the end.”
TURNING PRO
So how are we supposed to defeat this malicious foe?
According to Pressfield, the only way to get the upper hand on Resistance is to “turn pro.” Treat your work like your vocation, not a hobby (those who approach their work this way are viewed as “amateurs”).
Pressfield’s next book in the series, Turning Pro: Tap Into Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work, is dedicated to this process of turning pro. But these are a few thoughts that stuck with me:
“Turning pro is a decision. It’s a decision to view ourselves as pros and to do the work.”
“The professional is patient. He is prepared, each day, to confront his own self-sabotage.”
“The professional endures adversity. He lets the birdshit splash down on his slicker, remembering that it comes clean with a heavy-duty hosing.”
“Resistance hates it when we turn pro.”
It’s a lunchpail mentality. Develop your system. Stick to your schedule. Show up every day and do the work.
Even when the work sucks.
Especially when it sucks.
REINFORCEMENTS
“When we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen. A process is set into motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, Heaven comes to our aid.”
Pressfield calls it the Muse. Rick Rubin refers to it as Source. Those who are religious might credit God, Allah, or divine intervention.
Whatever name it goes by, there is a force that amasses to help those who buckle down and do the work.
“When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”
“The act of courage calls forth infallibly that deeper part of ourselves that supports and sustains us.”
“The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When she sees us begin, she may come to our aid.”
“WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN, BASIL?”
Teed up by Austin Powers, I’ll attempt to distill 190 pages of invaluable wisdom into 3 main points:
Acknowledge that Resistance is real – and it is goddamn deadly. Steel yourself to battle it daily.
If you want to make real progress and deliver, stop approaching the work like an amateur and turn pro.
When you do the work, new, powerful allies will come to your aid. Act as their instrument and let the work flow through you.
THE ENDURANCE FACTOR
This book will outlast trends, hacks, and hype because the war against Resistance is timeless.
“The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.”
Whether you’re writing, leading, parenting, building a business, losing weight, or just trying to be better—it shows up. And The War of Art gives you a name for it. A shape. A strategy.
It’s not a pep talk. It’s a battle plan.
And once you start seeing Resistance for what it is, you can never unsee it.
That alone makes this book a permanent tool in your arsenal.“Never forget – this very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment and never will be when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on resistance. This second, we can sit down and do our work.”
As a creator who’s had his ass kicked by Resistance for large chunks of his adult life, this book helped me name the enemy—and taught me how to fight back. I heard Joe Rogan refer to it on a number of his podcast episodes as the book he has gifted the most. I finally gave in and grabbed it.
I’m so glad I did.
It won’t fix you. But it will arm you.
Read it. Reread it. Then go do the work.